Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du had estimated the value of that warehouse. There were watches worth two hundred odd dollars and pocket watches worth a few hundred dollars. They were all, and of course, counterfeit branded goods. If those were not counterfeit, the warehouse would be worth at least five million. Hence, he bid with more energy. He was sure to get Conrad this time around. He wanted to beat Conrad big time. That bastard kept hounding him like a maggot. Conrad was harmless but repulsive. Li Du wanted to give Conrad a lesson to remember. He wanted Conrad to fear him every time he spotted him in the future. In any case, he was already prepared to take down that warehouse. Now that he had 400 million, a few million meant nothing to him. He was daring now that it came to bidding. That point was extremely important. Merlot, who was cautious by nature, held Conrad back when he wanted to make another bid. Merlot said in a low voice, “Hey, brother, calm down. The price is too high. Is there a catch?” “What catch?” “What if there are no watches in the other cabinets? What if all those watches are unbranded? Besides, I just found out, that Chinese dude is very cunning. What if it’s his trick to bring up the bid?” Conrad pretended to be calm and said, “There are no issues with the number of watches. We only need to worry about the brand. As for bringing up the price… Look at him, does it look like he is just trying to bring up the price?” This time, Li Du was not playing bluff. He was competing in earnest to win the bid. That was something one could not feign. Merlot had been observing him carefully. Judging from Li Du’s expression, attitude, tone, and everything else, there had been nothing to suggest otherwise. “95,000!” Li Du bid again. Conrad started to hesitate, not because of Merlot’s words, but because this sum would nearly exhaust his fluid funds. “One million!” Conrad could still afford that much. Li Du kept raising the bid. At the same time, he let out the little bug to get in front of Conrad’s face. It observed his expression and his eyes to determine what he was thinking, seeking to estimate Conrad’s bidding threshold.
Finally, when Conrad bid a million and a half, Li Du realized that his opponent had reached a state of heightened hesitation. When Conrad opened his mouth to bid, his face went through a few different expressions. His eyes widened, looking very agitated and very unwilling. That was how he determined that Conrad had reached his maximum threshold. Once he realized that, Li Du stopped at once. Everyone looked at Li Du, including White Gloves the auctioneer. They were all waiting for him to make a bid. Someone even urged him, “Hey, Li, call out a bid.” Li Du smiled gallantly and said, “What more can I say? Someone is ready to fork out a million and a half. I can’t go higher anymore.” The auctioneer got back in action. Pointing at Conrad, he said, “This lad bids a million and a half. Is there any higher bid?” Everyone shook their heads. Who could have so much money? There was no one from the Million Dollar Club here. After shouting thrice, the auctioneer clapped his hands and declared, “OK, a million and a half, deal! This warehouse belongs to you now, lad!” Conrad dashed into the warehouse and Merlot followed closely. The first thing they did was not to lock up the door but to tear off the cloth covers. Having done that, they saw that the cabinets were full of watches. The view made them exhilarated. Conrad yelled, “Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Henry Moss, Jaeger, Lange. These are all the top branded watches! Haha, haha! I won! I won!” Merlot picked up a watch and put it around his wrist enthusiastically. He said greedily, “I have always wanted a Patek Philippe. Conrad, buddy, can I have this one?” “Of course! We are going to be rich, we have a few millions’ worth of profits!” Conrad said excitedly. “You can take ten watches, buddy!” The treasure hunters did not move on to the next warehouse. They were all there, watching with envy: “That bastard is too lucky! He actually laid his hands on a treasure!” “That’s right, he is too lucky! He is lucky to have a rich father. Who doesn’t know that this warehouse is a gold mine?” “Too bad for Li. He had the cash, but he gave up!”
“That’s life for you. You have to be brave to earn big money.” Hearing the comments from his fellow treasure hunters, Conrad became proud. He showed Li Du his middle finger and shouted, “I told you that you were a sissy! You’re still unwilling to accept it? Warehouse auctions are battles between real men! You’ve got no balls, so why don’t you get lost!” Li Du was standing among the crowd. Faced with Conrad’s ridicule, he shrugged his shoulders carelessly. He said, “Hmm, yeah. This is a battle. Know what you need in a battle?” Li Du pointed to his head. Then, he said, “Composure, foresight, judgment, and strategy.” “Meaning?” One treasure hunter asked without thinking. Li Du got to the point, “Those watches are counterfeit. They’re all fake!” His words triggered a commotion at the scene, just like a pan sizzles when a drop of water falls into it. “Fake? These watches are all fakes?” “A million and a half… impossible! But really, who would keep so many branded watches in a warehouse? “Yes, they should be kept in the safe of a bank instead.” “Shit, it would be interesting if they were fakes. We might have just seen the greatest loss of the year!” “It’s okay, Anthony is rich. He can handle losing that much.” The debate going on stunned Conrad. Merlot, who had been choosing his watches, was shocked as well. Looking at Conrad, he exclaimed, “That can’t be true!” Conrad tried his best to collect himself. Feigning composure, he responded, “Of course that’s not true. That Chinaman is spouting nonsense, don’t believe anything he says!” Li Du shrugged, “As long as you are happy. Actually, if you examine the logo of the watch, you will be able to determine its authenticity. Of course, you would need to have good eyesight to do that.” An old man chipped in, “Top branded watches have a serial number. You guys can go to the official website to check those. It will also show up any information relating to that watch.” Conrad and Merlot hurriedly pulled out their mobiles to go online. Holding their phones, they entered the serial numbers.
As they did so, their faces acquired a terrible expression. With each serial number entered, their faces fell further. In the end, they looked like ghosts. Fakes! No information came up when they supplied the serial numbers! Some of the watches did not even have serial numbers to begin with! Seeing the changes in their expressions, the treasure hunters understood what happened. All the envy, jealousy, and hatred morphed into gloating, pity, and regret. A million and a half for a bunch of fakes! Everyone knew that Conrad and Merlot had suffered great losses this time. Li Du squeezed out of the crowd, relaxed. He said, “Hurry, let’s get on with the rest of the auction. If there is nothing worthwhile, I’ll just have to go home.” Merlot looked at Conrad hopelessly and shouted, “God! What do we do now?” Conrad pushed him away and chased after Li Du, yelling, “You knew that these are fake? It can’t be! You didn’t know! No, this is just your evil plot!” Li Du said without looking back, “Fool! You idiot!”
